Mid-Week News and Notes

By Mark Solway | October 14th, 2009

Defensive end Renaldo Wynn was re-signed to the roster. In order for Washington to sign replacement punter Glenn Pakulak for the Panthers game, Wynn was released last week.

The 13-year veteran played with the Redskins from 2002-06 before being picked up again as a free agent in March. Wynn was inactive for the four games that he was on the roster for, but could still see some playing time this year if Phillip Daniels’ biceps tear turns out to be worse than doctors have said.

The Redskins released Pakulak after the Panthers game, so presumably incumbent Hunter Smith’s aggravated groin will be fine for the Chiefs game. Pakulak was signed to the practice squad again today though, and the Redskins could do the same thing they did last week, if Smith is unable to play.

Offensive Line Shift

If the offensive line woes on Sunday weren’t enough, the Redskins are faced with making multiple shifts this week, to come up with some sort of strategy for Kansas City. Big Mike Williams will move outside to right tackle to supplant Stephon Heyer, who will be moving to the left side to fill in for the injured Chris Samuels. Either Will Montgomery or second-year guard Chad Rinehart will take Williams’ spot. Regardless of which of the two the Redskins choose, they will have to play better than they have previously in 2009, if the Redskins o-line is to perform at an NFL level.

0 Fors…

The Redskins have played nothing but winless teams this season. In all five games, their opponent has come into the game with 0 wins, and that will continue when the Redskins play the Chiefs this week. Granted, one of those 5 teams was the Giants, who were only winless because it was the first game of the season. Other than that, the Rams, Lions, Buccaneers and Panthers had all failed to register a win yet this season, and two of the four, Detroit and Carolina, got their first wins against the hapless Redskins.

Schedule Gets Less Friendly

The Redskins’ will host the Eagles on Monday night, and after that there’s really only one more bad team for them to play – the Raiders in Week 14. Can the Redskins get back to .500 this week? Because if they don’t – they’re not likely to again this season.

Gruden next Coach?

Not that football rumors mean anything, but the latest ‘new coach rumor’ is that Washington is interested in Jon Gruden. It is thought that Gruden would be a logical choice, because he isn’t likely to want the type of organizational control that a Mike Shanahan or a Mike Holmgren would demand.

As a coach, I like Gruden the most of the bunch, but frankly, giving someone other than Snyder and Cerrato control of football operations is even more important than finding a new coach. So if Gruden is the lead candidate because he would acquiesce to Snyderato, then in the broadest of schemes, he might actually be the worst choice for the franchise.